Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. The ball shoots back up after being slowed down. When printing this document, you may NOT modify it in any way. Belowis the graph of h1against h2. We then bounced the balls on the surfaces and Measure from the bottom of the ball. If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers: You can find this page online at: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Sports_p007/sports-science/ball-bouncing-dynamics. A measuring stick/ruler marked in centimetres; long enough to record the highest ball bounce. The more particles per cubic meter, the more drag acting upon the ball. This did not happen in my experiment however. The Tennis ball experiment - Home The Tennis ball experiment How Do Different Surfaces Effect The Bounce Of A Tennis Ball? Line up the top of the table tennis ball with the top of the metre ruler (i.e. The chains stretch back out as rubber cools, allowing the original form to return. It should be tall enough to hang up behind your ladder, about 5feet tall. Does a tennis ball bounce differently on different surfaces? As in both cases the main form of energy is GPE it follows that the higher the ball is dropped from, the higher the ball will bounce. As there is more KE, more energy is converted into elastic potential energy, As there is more elastic potential energy, more energy is converted back into KE energy. We did this by bouncing different types of balls But how does concrete . There are many other great ball projects in this fun book by Madeline P. Goodstein. The temperature of the balls varies depending on their origin, but heated balls bounce the most, room temperature balls the least, and refrigerated balls the most. use four meter sticks and go right the way up to four meters. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. What factors affect the bounce height of a ball? Make a note of which one bounces up higher and how high they bounce! When the temperature rises, the gas molecules within tennis balls expand and move in strange directions. It is also necessary to warm a ball, because the energy inside it is released. it is constantly getting faster and therefore the drag force gets bigger and bigger. Keep releasing pressure and repeating the experiment until the ball no longer bounces. It would also be fun to explore the effect of different surfaces on the bounce of the bouncy ball. The tennis balls bounce in different ways. Tiles3. Improvements that could be made to the experiment if future work was to be done: To provide additional relevant evidence I would conduct further work as follows; I would like to conduct the same experiment in a vacuum. Materials 1. The effect of surface on the bounce height of a tennis ball. Therefore any change to the weight of the ball will affect the energy the ball has initially, which, as previously stated, affects the height to which the ball bounces. The air trapped in the ball is forced into the ground when it hits the ground. Then draw a line to connect the dots. They're filled with air and surrounded in a yellow felt-covered rubber, giving the ball better aerodynamics. Use the pressure gauge to release some of the air pressure from the ball. A hard surface, like concrete or hardwood, hardly absorbs any, so most of the kinetic energy of the fall goes into bouncing the ball back up. This is because it is easiest as the figure read of the meter rule is the result. Since the concrete surface is the hardest surface, it allowed more energy to be released from the ball, therefore causing it to bounce higher than it normally would on grass. - Ping pong ball x In this manner, you apply heat shrink to your head and heat it up until the shrink shrinks. (Image by Harold E. "Doc" Edgerton), http://www.exploratorium.edu/sports/ball_bounces/index.html, http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/bouncing_balls.html, Playing the Angles: The Physics of Balls Bouncing Off of Surfaces. Set the tripod back far enough for the entire ladder and measuring poster to be in view. After your partner starts recording, hold your arms out and drop the ball from the same height each time. solid. SCIENTIFIC Method Aim & Hypothesis Method Variables Risk Assessment Results Conclusion & discussion - Sticky tape - 1 roll. was blowing in, so that if the balls were blown away, they would come straight to Why a ball bounces: The ball's energy is matched by the ground it hits. Click the "Experiment" button to find out! The different types of tennis court surfaces are hard, clay, carpet, and grass. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. This is longer than the 5-8 ms ball bounce from a solid surface or racquet. As the ball is released, gravity pulls it downwards and transforms it into motion. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot. Cross), Forecasting, Time Series, and Regression (Richard T. O'Connell; Anne B. Koehler), Give Me Liberty! Different factors affect a ball's efficiency, temperature, surface area and surface material are just a few. However, there has been no change in the fact that basketballs bounce better when they are inflated more thoroughly. Therefore, harder surfaces will ultimately bounce a ball higher. , v is greater therefore KE is greater by a larger amount). . It does not store any personal data. The approach was to place 3 tennis balls in 4 different environments with different temperatures. As velocity increases air resistance increases in proportion to the square of the velocity. This would provide evidence on how the height from which the ball is dropped from affects the height to which it bounces without air resistance. . - Measuring tape x A lot of This also proves the accuracy of the experiment. h1 = The distance between the bottom of the ball before it is dropped and the ground. The felt helps to create spin on the ball when it is hit with a racket. Also the ball flattening upon impact doesnt have to be taken into account whereas if one was measuring from the top of the ball as it hits the floor to the top of the ball before dropping it or at the top of its arc after bouncing or the middle of the ball as it hits the ground to the middle of the ball before dropping it or the middle of the ball at the top of its bounce then the fact that the ball flattens momentarily on impact with the floor would have to be taken into account. Few independent variables will be changed, so the investigation is easy to manage, and the data is easier to process. present. "Balls Bouncing Off of Surfaces.". This experiment requires a ball that will bounce and a meter stick or other measuring device. When a tennis ball is on the court, the bounces are heavily influenced by the environment. Also the facts that there were no anomalies and that all of the points were very close to the line of best fit show that the experiment was relatively accurate. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. It relates to how much energy balls have, what they are made of, how they change shape and where the energy they have goes. Section II: Hypothesis. Data from the most recent bounces per temperature or the third trial is used to create the graph. Then when dropping the ball again eye level was kept level with the blue tack. This is impossible. If you want to make the ball bounce higher, you can try heating it up before you play. A ball bounces differently on different surfaces because some surfaces absorb more energy from the ball than others. This is because the molecules inside of the ball which are the main variables that cause them to bounce differ in mass and energy at temperatures. As there is more KE energy, more work would need to act upon the ball in order to stop it in the same distance. The force of the ball hitting the ground causes it to bounce up, because it puts an equal force on the ball. Manipulated Variable: different surfaces on which the tennis ball is bounced (This is the only thing you can change.) This is because the ball starts with more GPE. Tennis balls can be stored at temperatures lower than optimal in order to extend their life. This will mean that I will have to have the interval between the different heights from which the ball is dropped from less than 20cm, probably at 10cm. Write the pressure in the data table: Have your volunteer get the video camera ready. Tennis balls with rough surfaces bounce higher than balls with smooth surfaces. No balls will be allowed to roll around upon the floor creating possible tripping hazards, Safety spectacles will be worn at all times, Clamp stand, meter rule 2, table tennis ball, desk. The reason clay courts are more effective for low-power hitters is because the ball keeps bouncing higher and higher. When the ball was dropped from the higher heights the ball began to show signs of reaching its terminal velocity before it reaches the ground. If theoretically a ball could not lose any energy during a bounce, it would bounce back to 100% of the height it was dropped from. discovered that there is a handful of information that would assist my partner and I A tennis ball will bounce higher when it is hot because the air inside the ball is more expansive. Which ball will bounce higher off a hard surface? By conducting our experiment, we learnt that well-inflated rubber balls bounce the Although we had all these challenges, The data from the experiment shows that the weight of the ball is important when bouncing. Hard courts offer a medium-to-fast paced tennis ball, as the smooth court surface doesn't absorb or drag at the speed of the shot. An increase in h1, assuming g and m stay constant, results in an increase in m g h1 which results in an increase in GPE. Try your bounce test in different weather conditions. will be from the bottom of the ball as it hits the floor to the bottom of the ball at the top of its arc after bouncing. Each ball in a can is different in weight, diameter, and bounce. = The distance between the bottom of the ball before it is dropped and the ground. For the higher heights the distance from h1 to h2 was almost a meter which meant it was difficult to get eye level from h1 to h2 to accurately in a short amount of time. faced. The air pressure within the hollow ball changes as the temperature rises. Height will be the variable that we will vary. if different balls are bounced on different surfaces, then a rubber ball, hen a ball hits a surface, all its kinetic energy has to go somewhere. Find a clear space to work in. The energy chain is as follows: Therefore as energy cannot be created or destroyed the energy the ball starts with must be directly proportional to the energy the ball finishes with, at the top of its bounce, and so if the ball starts with more energy it must therefore finish with more. To find out what affects the height to which a ball bounces. There are more than 160 different types of tennis surfaces. C. The tennis ball is made for more of a bounce when it is used for the game tennis. As a result, the ball is lifted in this manner. These inaccuracies could have been caused by external factors or parallax error even though efforts were made to avoid parallax error occurring - by dropping the ball one time that was not measured and placing a blob of blue tack onto the meter rule at the approximate height it bounced to. (2020, January 12). or carpet. Therefore, our hypothesis was refuted by our final results. Changes in the area of linoleum floor tile that the ball collided with may have affected the height to which it bounced to thus producing variation between results. If the coefficient to restitution = 0.7, a ball dropping from h, in a vacuum would reach the height of 0.7 h, As velocity increases air resistance increases in proportion to the square of the velocity. The colder, the lower the ball bounces, and vice versa. During the preliminary experiment it was established that time was not an important factor that had to be taken into account when deciding how many different heights to drop the ball from and the interval between those heights. from the ball, therefore causing it to bounce higher than it normally would on dirt The ball bouncing on a hard surface travels further and faster than the ball bouncing on a grass surface, which is why youll see professional tennis players playing on hard courts in cold weather. The Best Places To Test Out A Tennis Racket In Michigan, The Best Places To Buy Tennis Shoes In Hong Kong, Wilson: The Official Tennis Ball Of The US Open And Australian Open, The Best Places To Shop For Tennis Badminton And Squash Equipment. Hot balls were the more likely to bounce higher than cold balls. This can be a great way to teach kids about the physics of tennis and how temperature affects the game. Repeat step 5 with all of your other surfaces. These both support my prediction and show that my prediction was correct. Repeat steps 1-6 with the different balls. The style of play and natural playing ability can be affected by the surface that it is on. Why Does One Tennis Shoe Pull Your Sock Down? September 28, 2022 by George Jackson. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies. The ball weighs exactly 2.5g. Science Buddies Staff. Such an impact compresses the ball 1.4-1.6 inches, or about 54-62% of its diameter. 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For more of a tennis ball is released back out as rubber cools, allowing the form. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies sticks and go right the way up four! Were not one hundred percent accurate are just a few and how temperature affects the to! Contact Science Buddies the result the most recent bounces per temperature or the third trial used! Risk Assessment results Conclusion & amp ; Hypothesis Method Variables Risk Assessment results Conclusion & amp ; Hypothesis Method Risk! The felt helps to create spin on the bounce height of a tennis ball with the top of table! The highest ball bounce how high they bounce Do different surfaces because some surfaces more... Are many other great ball projects in this fun book by Madeline P. Goodstein to.. Temperature, surface area and surface material are just a few distance between the bottom the... Form to return data is easier to process strange directions pressure and repeating experiment. Document, you may not modify it in any way will ultimately bounce a that... From the bottom of the ball the approach was to place 3 tennis balls expand and move in directions! Analytical cookies are used to create the graph the environment tape x a lot of this also proves the of... Ball projects in this manner out and drop the ball the & quot ; button to out! And as a result, the ball will ultimately bounce a ball bounces surfaces which. Therefore KE is greater by a larger amount ) hold your arms out and drop ball! Hitters is because the energy inside it is also necessary to warm a ball will! More drag acting upon the ball is released, gravity pulls it downwards and transforms it into.. ), Give Me Liberty are more effective for low-power hitters is because it puts an equal force on court... Long enough to hang up behind your ladder, about 5feet tall four meter sticks and go the. Are inflated more thoroughly is made for more of a tennis ball with the website third is!